ASL Interpreter Rocks Storm Coverage

She’s been described as mesmerizing, hypnotizing, a rock star. Last week, Lydia Callis, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s American Sign Language interpreter, emerged as one of the few bright spots during coverage of Hurricane Sandy.

ASL interpreters normally blend into the background, but Callis did anything but—her gesticulating communicated vital storm information to the hearing-impaired and made me (and I’d bet lots of other hearing people) appreciate the expressiveness of ASL and the sheer awesomeness of Callis’s work.